Steves: Massachusetts can learn from Europe on marijuana

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, file photo, Rick Steves speaks during an interview in Portland, Ore. Steves said the U.S. can learn from Europe when comes to easing restrictions on marijuana. The host of the PBS series "Rick Steves' Europe" was in Amherst on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, to open a statewide tour in support of a ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana use in Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Travel show host Rick Steves says the U.S. can learn from Europe when comes to easing restrictions on marijuana.

The host of the PBS series "Rick Steves' Europe" was in Amherst on Tuesday to open a statewide tour in support of a ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana use in Massachusetts.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette (http://bit.ly/2dc15zx ) reports that Steves told about 175 people at the University of Massachusetts that "Europe is very into pragmatic harm reduction," and doesn't believe in moralizing or imprisonment.

He cited several examples, including Spain, where marijuana is legal to grow but not sell, and clubs allow for the cooperative growth and use of pot.

Steves' was scheduled to be in Boston on Wednesday and Thursday.

Many Massachusetts leaders oppose Question 4, saying it could lead to harder drug use.